Friday, January 27, 2017

President Diane Hu confirmed that she had a “very friendly” vidchat
with California’s President Eric Petro a day after rising tensions caused the
cancellation of a meeting scheduled for next week.

During the vidchat, Hu said the two discussed building a
“fair relationship,” but made clear there would be no backing down.

“I have been very firm en regards to California returning to
the Union,” said Hu during a Friday afternoon press conference.

“If California wishes to return to the Union, they can only
do so by submitting to the authority of the U.S. government,” Hu declared. “On
that, I am resolute.”

The White House would not disclose who initiated the vidchat
or whether the issue of Hu’s plans to demolish the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border
had impacted California’s interest in rejoining the Union.

“With respect to the border wall, both presidents recognized
that this is a very sensitive issue,” said a statement released by President Petro’s
office. “The presidents also agreed not to
speak about it at this time,” continued the statement.

The strong reaction from California to the Hu
administration’s commitment to demolishing the border wall was a sign relations
with California may be improving.

However, while President Hu’s move to demolish the border
wall has been hailed as a positive act, public and political reaction to
California’s overtures to return to the Union has been mixed.

An Armstrong flashpoll, revealed that only 24 percent of Americans
think California should be readmitted to the Union. Forty-three percent were
opposed to readmittance, while 33 percent of respondents expressed surprise
that California had ever been a part of the USA.

The PRD announced on Monday that the next chapter in the
space opera saga will be named "Star Wars: The Phantom Army."

"The Phantom Army," written and directed by Abdul
Frye, immediately follows the events of the smash hit "Star Wars: The Return of Nix
Olru."

Frye said in a recent interview that the epic will explore
the motivations of the anti-hero, Nix Olru, and his connection with the Sith
matron, Bhiria Otrume.

"I wanted to know more about each of them, and that
doesn't just mean information or backstory," Frye told Earth Today.
"Figure out what's the most difficult thing each of them could be
challenged with now — let's throw that at them and dig into what really makes
them tick by seeing how they handle that."

New Washington (VNN)
- President Diane Hu will take executive action Wednesday directing federal
resources toward dismantling the Mexican-American Border Wall, a White House
official confirmed to VNN.

Hu plans to issue two executive orders Wednesday during her
visit to the Department of Homeland Security, according to a person familiar
with the President's plan.

The first will direct the agency to begin removing the
border wall between the USA and Mexico. The order will also include a mandate
to fill vacancies at Customs and Border Protection with 5,000 androids.

Officials said Hu would wait until later in the week to take
action on visas and refugees, potentially as early as Thursday.

An order being prepared for Hu's signature includes the
drastic measure of overhauling the government’s refugee program, expediting the
admittance of refugees fleeing the German Civil War and European humanitarian
crisis.

Earlier in January, Hu's transition team engaged in active
discussions with the US Army Corps of Engineers and Interior Department to tear
down the wall along the Mexican border, VNN reported.

A US official with knowledge of a visit last month to the
Interior Department -- which oversees most federal lands -- said the transition
team was particularly interested in finding out "how long it would
take" to demolish the wall.

Hu's announcement comes as a high-level delegation of
Mexican leaders arrive in the US for talks. Hu spoke by phone with the Mexican
President on Saturday, and plans to meet with him later this month.

The orders on immigration, a congressional aide said, are
expected to lift restrictions on refugees, and people with visas from some countries
including Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

In the first three days of the Hu administration, the US
admitted 136 German refugees, according to the State Department Bureau of
Population, Refugees and Migration.

There is no word yet as to whether President Hu will also
seek to dismantle the Canadian-American Border Wall.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

In the world of Garus, ratlings are the creation of the goddess, Simera. Following her destruction of the city of Sertu, the goddess elevated ordinary rats to near-human intellect. She set them to living in the ruins of Sertu as a kind of mockery to the efforts of her fellow goddess, Ademnestra. The ratlings, therefor, were created to be part of a divine joke that was in poor taste.

The ratlings did not stay in Sertu. They left the ruins of the city and traveled west and south, establishing nests along their way. They turned away from Simera, as a patron goddess, and many embraced Datosh, viewing him as a God of Change rather than Chaos.

Ratling nests are controlled by the strongest or the smartest ratling. Occasionally, a charismatic ratling leader will unite several nests under his control. These individuals are known as rat kings, and they are very rare.

Age. Ratlings mature quickly. They are considered adults at 13. Most can live for five or six decades, but many die earlier from violence, disease, etc.

Alignment. Ratlings are concerned mainly with their own survival. The majority are neutral.

Size. Ratlings are between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 100 to 120 pounds, They are considered Medium creatures.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Largely nocturnal, ratlings have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Noses. You have proficiency on all Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Light Sensitive. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in bright light.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Please forgive my absence, but it's been an 'interesting' couple of weeks for yours' truly.

'Interesting' in the sense of the Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."

First things first.

I'm unemployed.

The comic shop I've been working at for the last few years shut its doors this past December. It was a sad time. I really enjoyed that job. Comics have been a passion of mine for years and it was a lot of fun to work somewhere where I could indulge that passion and 'geek out' with the customers.

And, of course, the end of 2016 was a godsend.

The whole year wasn't bad.

Just the last quarter.

I'm glad to see the end of it, and so were a lot of you, I imagine.

2017 is still new, it still has that new car, minty fresh smell to it. Let's hope it doesn't go pear-shaped on us. *fingers crossed*

Being unemployed sort of sucks.

I've applied for unemployment benefits, but it will take a while before I know if I'm eligible. In the meantime, I'm having to jump through hoops to accommodate the governing agency. Honestly? I'm thinking of saying fuck it and just roughing it out on my own.

I have been pro-active with employment. In the last week, I think I've applied for about twelve jobs? Maybe more? I'm not sure. I've also registered with a temp agency (something I haven't done in years), and am considering registering with a few more.

So, hopefully something will open up for me soon and I can get back to work.

If anyone wants to help out, feel free to go to Amazon and buy a copy of an e-book or something. I'd appreciate it.

Speaking of books, I'm starting to write again. Well, to do research at any rate, for a future story. The past year, I've mostly been content to experiment with poetry, particularly the haiku form. But now I feel like I want to sink my teeth into something meatier.

So, *fingers crossed* lets hope I manage to produce something readable in the near future.

I hope all of you had a happy new year's celebration and that 2017 isn't pissing all over you.

Who is this guy?

My name is George R. Shirer and I'm an author currently living in South Carolina.During my life I've done some interesting things: testified in a murder trial, worked as a professional fortune teller, accidentally peed on a bear.The list goes on and on.Here, I plan on sharing some things about myself, my life and my writing with you.Together we can, hopefully, discover the answer to the most important question in the world: what next?